Never Go Home Again
by Chasyn
Summary: Zach didn't want a baby brother. He couldn't understand why his parents were getting him one. So he was going to run away. Just as soon as he convinced the older kid in the waiting room to help him cross the street.
1. Running Away

**Disclaimer** : Don't own anything. 8D

 **Pairings** : Eventual Owen/Zach, once Zach gets older.

 **Summary** : Zach didn't want a baby brother. He couldn't understand why his parents were getting him one. So he was going to run away. Just as soon as he convinced the older kid in the waiting room to help him cross the street.

 **Never Go Home Again  
** **Chapter 1: Running Away**

He made up his mind. He was running away. He didn't want a new brother. He didn't know why his parents were getting him one anyways. He didn't ask for one. Wasn't on his Christmas list. He didn't remember asking Santa for one. In fact, he remembered asking Santa for a puppy. Maybe Santa messed up. Because he didn't get a puppy. And now his parents brought him to the hospital to pick out a baby brother. Why did they keep the new babies at the hospital anyways? And why did they have to go get the baby in the middle of the night? He'd been sleeping. And why did they have to rush? Daddy had driven really fast and mommy had screamed and then they had left him alone in the waiting room.

Daddy said to wait there and not move. "We'll be right back, Zach. With your baby brother."

There was a TV in the waiting room. It was playing cartoons. He liked Spiderman. And there was a coloring book and markers and toy cars. But he didn't want to wait for his new brother. Because he didn't want a new brother. So he was running away. He made up his mind.

He slipped from the waiting room silently and started wandering down the hall. He ran his hand along the wall as he walked. There was a blue stripe painted on the wall and he was following the line. He went the way he thought he'd come with his parents. But it was another hall. He followed it and there was another hall. Then there was an intersection. He glanced down both halls and frowned. Just how big was this dumb place? He didn't know where he was or how to get out of the hospital.

Zach turned left and followed that hall. And came to another waiting room. This one didn't have Spiderman on the TV and it wasn't empty. There was an older kid, a lot older, he thought. Not like a grown up yet. But this kid could definitely cross the street by himself. Zach's eyes widened. Maybe the kid could help Zach cross the street! He'd have to cross it to run away and mommy said never to cross the street by himself.

The older kid was sitting on the couch. He was staring ahead, at nothing it looked like to Zach. He didn't seem to see Zach, as the younger kid stepped closer. He had shaggy golden brown hair and Zach thought he looked sad. Zach waved his hand at him. The kid still didn't see him. Zach reached out and grabbed his sleeve. He pulled gently. "Hey mister."

The kid was still for a few moments longer. Then real slow, he blinked and turned his head towards Zach. He blinked again and opened his mouth. But he didn't say anything.

"Can you talk?" Zach asked, rather bluntly. "Or do you talk with your hands?"

The kid closed his mouth and looked confused.

"There's a kid down the street." Zach continued talking. "His name is Jimmy." He lifted his hands and tried to mimic some of the stuff he'd seen Jimmy do. "He talks with his hands. I can't talk with my hands." Zach let his arms drop in his lap. "But I still play with Jimmy. I share my Legos with him."

The older kid blinked at him again. And then he slowly smiled. "I can talk." He said slowly, his voice soft and gravely. "With my mouth." He added. "Not my hands."

"Good." Zach said with a nod. He stepped around the older kid and climbed up on the couch and sat beside him. "My name is Zach."

The older kid turned to watch him and smiled. "Hi Zach." He said softly.

"What's your name?"

He older kid frowned. "My name?" He repeated slowly.

Zach nodded. "You have one, right?"

He nodded and looked away for a moment. Then he blinked and looked back. "Owen." He finally answered. "My name is Owen."

"Hi Owen!" Zach said happily. "I'm 5."

"I uh... I'm... 15..." Owen answered slowly.

"My favorite color is green."

Owen smiled. "I like blue."

"Spiderman is my favorite superhero."

"He's cool." Owen said, leaning back. "Swinging around the city. Pretty awesome."

"I like how he shoots web from his hands." Zach lifted his hands and pretended to shoot at Owen." Owen laughed and Zach smiled. "Are we not strangers yet?"

Owen stopped laughing and frowned. "Not strangers?" He repeated.

Zach nodded. "I'm not allowed to talk to strangers."

"Oh..." Owen bit his lip and looked away. He shrugged. "Uh... I guess we're not."

Zach smiled brightly. "Great! Can you help me cross the road?"

Owen turned back to him. "The road?"

Zach nodded again. "I can't cross the road by myself."

"Why do you need to cross the road?"

"I'm running away."

"You're running away?"

Zach nodded.

"Why?"

Zach let out a loud, over exaggerated sigh and leaned back. "Because I don't want a new brother but they are giving me one. And I asked Santa for a puppy, not a brother."

Owen nodded slowly. "You're running away because you don't want a brother?"

Zach nodded. "I hate him!"

"Is he here yet?"

Zach shook his head. "No. Mommy and daddy are getting him now. Daddy said to wait but I don't want to wait for my brother. I want to run away." His eyes widened. "You want to run away with me? I can cross all the roads with you!"

Owen laughed. "I don't know, kiddo. I don't think you should run away."

Zach stuck his bottom lip out and crossed his arms. "But I wanna!" He pouted.

Owen laughed again and reached out to ruffle Zach's hair. The younger kid ducked away from him. "Hey. Having a brother isn't so bad."

Zach was still pouting. "How would you know?"

Owen stopped. "I uh... I have a brother..." He said, nodding slowly. "Yeah, I have a brother."

Zach tilted his head. "You do?" He asked slowly.

Owen nodded again. "Yeah. His name is..." He closed his eyes for a moment. He took a deep breath and licked his lips. "Peter." He finally said, opening his eyes again. "Peter." He repeated. "I have a brother named Peter."

"You don't sound sure." Zach tilted his head to the side. "Are you like that umm... that fish?"

Owen frowned. "What fish?"

"The blue one." Zach said. "In the fish movie?"

"What fish movie?"

Zach breathed out loudly and pulled his legs up on the couch. He turned fully towards Owen and folded his legs up under him. "There's this little fish, his name is Nemo. And he gets kidnapped. And his daddy goes to find him. And he meets this blue fish who can't remember stuff good. She says uh.." Zach tilted his head, trying to remember. "Short term memory loss." He said with a nod. "And she forgets stuff."

Owen smiled and shook his head. "I missed that one."

Zach sighed again and nodded. "Okay. I'll tell you what happens." Zach liked the fish movie, he had seen it a lot. He really liked the turtles and the sharks. So he knew all the characters and all the words and for the next hour, he recited nearly the whole movie perfectly for Owen. Owen leaned back and listened to the young kid talk. He nodded and laughed at the funny parts and made Zach smile and laugh.

"And then, they roll across the street and fall into the water and they're stuck in bags!" Zach said dramatically. "But they're out of the yucky dentist office. But that's how it ends! Like that!"

"That's lame." Owen said. "They don't get to find Nemo and meet his new friends."

Zach shook his head. "No but I think they do. And they all live at the reef together."

Owen smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I think so too."

Zach suddenly yawned widely and leaned back.

"Tired?" Owen asked softly.

Zach nodded. "I was sleeping when they woke me up." He mumbled around another yawn. "Don't know why he couldn't a waited until the morning."

Owen smiled. "Sometimes baby brothers come in the middle of the night."

"Don't want the baby." He mumbled again.

"You will." Owen said, still smiling. "One day, you'll be happy to have him."

Zach shook his head. "No I won't."

"You will." Owen insisted. "When he's big enough to play with, it'll be great."

Zach looked at his hands in his lap. "He'll be able to play with me?"

"Yeah." Owen said. "When he gets bigger."

Zach let out a sigh. "But he can't now!" He whined. "And Jimmy talks with his hands and I can't and he's hard to play with." He looked back up at Owen. "Can you play with me?"

Owen smiled again and laughed softly. "Yeah. Maybe."

"Zach?"

The pair turned as an older woman walked down the hall towards the waiting room. Relief was on her face as she came closer.

"Zach Mitchell?" She asked.

Zach nodded his head.

She smiled at him. "My name is Gretchen." She said warmly. "I'm a nurse, I work here. We've been looking all over for you. Your parents are worried."

"Oh..." Zach looked at Owen.

Owen smiled at him. "You should go back to your parents and meet your new brother."

Zach smiled and nodded. "Okay." He slipped off the couch and waved at Owen. "Bye. I'll see you later."

The nurse laughed and reached out for Zach's hand. "I'm not going anywhere yet, sweetie. I'm going to walk you to your parents.

Zach nodded. "Okay." He followed behind the nice nurse. Before they turned the corner, he turned around and waved at Owen. Owen smiled and waved back at him.

The nurse watched him and tilted her head. "Who are you waving at, honey?"

Zach looked back at her. "Owen."

"Who's that?" She asked.

"My new friend."

The nurse glanced back down the hall. Then she nodded curtly and pulled Zach along.

Owen watched until they turned the corner. He breathed deeply in and out and tried to remember what he'd been doing before the kid showed up. But his mind was blank. Everything seemed blank. Owen pulled his legs up to his chest and tucked his chin against his knees. But no matter how hard he tried to remember, nothing came to him. After an unknown amount of time, he opened his eyes and slowly eased his feet back down on the ground. He blinked and stood up. And then turned and walked down the hall where Zach had gone.

 **-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-**

 **Author's Notes:** 8D


	2. Sandcastles

Let's continue right where we left off. With poor Owen wandering around the hospital! 8D

 **Never Go Home Again  
** **Chapter 2: Sandcastles**

Owen walked down the hall and turned. Another hall. He touched his hand to the blue stripe on the white wall and took a deep breath. He felt a sudden and gripping pang of emptiness. Something made him stop and look back. But it was gone. The couch where he'd been sitting, the empty white hall... the room... he blinked. It was gone.

But he heard the laughter. The kid that smiled at him, that called him a friend, that explained the silly movie to him. Owen smiled and started down the hall again... and then... he stopped again. He closed his eyes for a moment.

"Hey! Hey Owen!"

Owen opened his eyes and turned. He looked around quickly, feeling lost. He was in a park. A park? There was a slide and swing sets and a merry-go-round. How'd he get to a park?

"Owen!"

Owen turned again. He smiled as a familiar kid came running towards him.

Zach waved wildly as he stopped in front of Owen. "Hey Owen!" The small kid was practically bouncing on his feet.

Owen smiled again and waved back. "Hey, kiddo."

Zach smiled widely. "Did you come to play with me?"

Owen tilted his head for a moment. Then he nodded. "Yeah, sure. We can play."

Zach was beaming. "Yay!" He squealed loudly and jumped into the air.

Owen let out a laugh. "What do you want to play?"

"Can you build a sandcastle?"

Owen tilted his head. "A sandcastle?"

Zach nodded. "Yeah. There's a sand box. Follow me."

Owen smiled and followed the kid to the other side of the playground. He looked around as they walked. There were a few other kids running about, and a few parents sitting on benches. Owen absently wondered if one of them belong to Zach. He turned his attention back to kid and smiled.

The sandbox was a decent size and empty. Zach plopped down in the sand and immediately started digging through it.

Owen sat down across from him, watching. "I don't think we can build a castle." He said after a moment. "Not without like... water and a bucket."

Zach stopped and looked up at Owen. "Oh... like when I went to the beach."

"You went to the beach?"

Zach nodded. "Daddy and I built a castle."

Owen smiled. "That's nice."

Zach looked back down at the pile of sand he'd been digging up. "We can build a sand mountain."

Owen nodded. "Yeah. We can do that."

They pulled all the sand to the center of the box. Owen had to admit, it was a pretty nice sand mountain. And then suddenly, Zach was running towards it. He jumped and landed in the center and sand went flying everywhere. Owen was covered. Zach was covered. Owen was certain more sand was outside of the box now than in. And then they started laughing.

Owen stood up and pulled Zach from the destroyed sand mountain. "Why did you do that?"

Zach smiled. "It was a volcano. It erupted."

Owen shook his head and sand flew from his hair. Zach laughed loudly. Owen reached out and ruffled the kid's hair. More sand flew. Zach grabbed Owen's shirt and tugged and then Owen had Zach on the floor, tickling him. Zach was laughing and thrashing around as sand was flying off both of them. After a few minutes, Zach was breathless. Owen collapsed back on the ground beside him, laughing.

The laughing slowly petered off and Zach sat up. "I wrote about you in school."

Owen smiled. "You did?"

"I can't write." Zach admitted softly. "But I drew a picture and the teacher wrote the words."

"Oh yeah?" Owen leaned back slightly. "What was I doing? In the picture?"

"Telling me about your brother."

"My brother..." Owen repeated slowly.

Zach nodded again. "Peter."

Owen tilted his head and frowned. "Oh yeah... I have a brother named Peter."

Zach sighed. "Did you forget again?"

Owen nodded. "I didn't mean to..."

Zach shook his head. "It's Dory Disease."

Owen laughed loudly. "Yeah, I guess so."

"I'll remember for you."

Owen smiled. "How's your new brother?"

"All he does is cry!" Zach threw his arms up dramatically. "I think that's all he knows how to do. Cry."

Owen smiled. "Babies cry sometimes. They can't talk yet. It's how they express themselves."

"But he cries all the time!" Zach repeated, a whine in his voice. "You think he's broken? Can we take him back to the hospital?"

Owen laughed again and shook his head. "No, sorry. You can't. You're stuck with him."

Zach crossed his arms and slouched down. "Not fair. I gets a broken brother." He mumbled. "I bet your brother's not broken."

Owen shrugged. "He could be. I don't really remember very well..."

"His name is Peter."

Owen smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Don't let me forget. What's your new brother's name?"

"Gray." Zach said, pouting again. "It's stupid."

"Like the color?"

Zach nodded.

Owen wrinkled his nose and smiled. "Yeah. It's a silly name."

"Zach!" She was walking towards them, smiling.

Zach turned to look. "That's my mom."

Owen turned to look as well. He smiled at her and lifted his hand to wave.

But her eyes were on Zach. "Time to go, sweetie."

Zach sighed loudly. "I wanna stay and play more."

His mom turned away for a moment. She looked down at her watch, checking the time. "We really have to go. But we'll come back."

Owen smiled. "I'll come play again."

Zach smiled. "Really? You promise?"

Owen nodded. "I promise."

"Yes." Mom said, nodding her head. "Next weekend."

"Okay!" Zach said excitedly and jumped up.

"Zach!" Mom snapped. "We need to go now." She started towards the car.

Zach paused and waved at Owen. "Bye."

"Bye Zach."

 **-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-**

He hated school. The other kids were stupid. The teachers were stupid. Everything was stupid. His mommy and daddy were stupid. The crying baby was really stupid. And Owen was most stupid of all. Owen said he would come play again. He had promised. And Zach hadn't seen him. And it had been a while. He wasn't sure how long. He wasn't good at telling time. Clocks were hard. And calendars were harder.

But he knew it was a while. Because mom only took him to the park on not school days. And he'd been to the park as many times as his fingers on one hand. And no Owen. He hadn't seen Owen in at least five fingers. Zach was sure. It may have been more fingers. But numbers bigger than his hand were hard. But he was pretty sure it wasn't two hands worth. That would be a lot of numbers.

Zach kicked at the pavement. Daddy was late picking him up again. Daddy was usually late. He says he didn't forget. He says work runs late. But he's still late most days. Zach likes it better when mommy picks him up. Well... maybe not. Mommy brings the screaming baby. And the screaming baby was stupid!

He was standing out front of the school, waiting. There were other kids and parents there. And teachers. There was a teacher standing near the door, watching him. They were all dumb, too. Everyone was.

"Hey."

Zach looked up at the voice. Owen was standing right in front of him suddenly, smiling at him like it hadn't been five fingers. Zach frowned and looked down at the ground again, not saying anything. He didn't want to see stupid Owen.

Owen stepped closer. "Zach, hey, what's wrong?"

Zach gripped the straps of his backpack harder. "You promised." He mumbled.

Owen tilted his head. "What?"

"You promised you'd play with me." Zach answered.

"I know." Owen said, smiling again. "I'm here."

Zach looked up at him, his eyes narrowing. "I've been to the park five fingers." He held up his hand. "And you haven't been to play with me!"

Owen frowned and tilted his head. "Five fingers..."

"You broke your promise!"

Owen opened his mouth and then closed it. He stepped back and shook his head, confusion on his face.

A car pulled up right behind Owen. The window rolled down. "Zach." The man inside said.

"Hi dad." Zach said sullenly.

"Sorry." Zach's dad said, sounding genuinely late. "Ran a bit late. Get in, we'll go get ice cream."

Zach stepped around Owen and walked to the car. He didn't look back as he reached for the door handle.

Owen turned to watch him. "Wait..." He said, taking a step towards the car. "Zach! Wait a minute!"

Zach slipped in the back seat and pulled the door shut.

"Zach! Please! I'm sorry!"

Zach slouched down in the seat.

"Zach!" Owen watched the car pull away and panic suddenly gripped him. The car was gone. Zach was gone. Owen turned and looked at the school behind him. He didn't know where he was. He didn't know how he'd gotten there or how to get back. Or where he'd been. All he remembered was Zach. He turned and looked down the road. Zach said he'd broken his promise. How long had it been since the playground?

 **-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-**

"Zach, what's wrong?"

Zach looked up from his bowl of ice cream. He didn't really want it. It was his favorite. Chocolate. And it had whipped cream and sprinkles and chocolate sauce and there had been a cherry on the top. He ate the cherry. That was his favorite part. But he didn't want the rest. Zach let out a sigh and dug his spoon into his bowl. He swirled it around, letting the melting ice cream mix with the whipped cream. It created funny colors where it touched the rainbow sprinkles. "Owen promised to play with me but he didn't so I yelled at him."

Daddy leaned forward a bit on the table. "Owen?"

"He promised!" Zach said loudly. "You and mommy say never to break a promise and Owen broke his promise and now we can't be friends anymore but I really like him and I want to be friends but he promised!" He finished in one breath and glared down at his ice cream again.

"You made a friend?"

Zach nodded. "His name is Owen. He has a brother named Peter. He said I should be nice to Gray because it's good to have a brother."

Daddy smiled at him. "Sounds like Owen is a good friend."

"But he broke his promise!" Zach snapped. "You aren't supposed to break promises!"

Daddy took a bit of his ice cream. "What was the promise?" He asked.

"He said he'd play with me at the park." Zach answered. "He promised!"

"Maybe it was an accident." Daddy said, dropping his spoon into his empty bowl. "Maybe he didn't mean to break it. Maybe he got in trouble or his parents wouldn't take him to the park."

Zach frowned as he thought about that. "Oh..." There were times Zach got in trouble. And then mommy and daddy wouldn't let him do things. Like the time he drew on the wall with markers and he had to stay in his room. Or when he broke the little glass box that played music that mom said not to touch. He had to sit in the corner forever!

"Did you see him at school?" Daddy asked.

Zach nodded.

Daddy smiled. "Next time you see him, ask him why he couldn't play. Ask him what happened. Or ask him over to the house to play. Maybe his parents can bring him. Or I can go meet them and bring him over."

Zach smiled slowly. "Owen can play with me? I'm my room?" His eyes widened. "With my Legos?"

Daddy let out a laugh and nodded. "See if you can get his phone number. We'll call his parents. If he doesn't know it, you give him ours. You remember it?"

Zach nodded and recited the ten digit number.

Daddy nodded. "Good job, kiddo. Now, you feel better?"

Zach nodded.

"Finish your ice cream."

Zach nodded again and took a few bites of the melted dessert. He did feel better. Daddy was smart. Daddy said Owen didn't mean to break his promise. That meant they could still be friends!

 **-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-**

 **Author's Notes:** 8D I love kid Zach. 8D


	3. Walk Me Home

So I like playing with kid Zach. So I'm gonna linger a bit longer before the growing up montage. XD

 **Never Go Home Again  
** **Chapter 3: Walk Me Home**

It had been many more fingers since Zach had seen Owen. Every day when daddy would pick him up from school, he would ask Zach if he'd talked to Owen. And Zach would shake his head and say no. He hadn't seen Owen. And he'd be sad and quiet.

"He must be really sick." Daddy said one day in the car. He looked over the seat at Zach. "I'm sure he'll get better and be back soon."

Zach nodded and looked down at his hands in his lap. He blinked and looked back up. "Like when I had the chicken disease?" He asked, remembering when he'd been really sick.

Daddy smiled and nodded. "Yes, just like that. You were in bed for a whole week. That was before you started school. If you get sick like that when you go to school, you have to stay home. You can't be sick and go to school because you'll get other people sick. You understand?"

Zach nodded. And he did understand being sick. Maybe Owen was really sick. Maybe that's why they met in the hospital. Maybe Owen was there a lot.

Zach kicked at the pavement again and let out a sigh. Daddy was late again. Really late this time. He'd been getting later and later the past few fingers. Mommy had had to pick him up yesterday. And the baby had cried the whole time. Gray didn't like being in the car. And Zach didn't like having to sit beside him.

"Zach."

He turned and his teacher was walking towards him. Zach sighed and looked at the ground again. She was a nice lady. But Zach didn't want to talk to her.

"You're dad's late again." She said softly.

Zach nodded and just wanted her to leave him alone.

She held her hand out to him. "Why don't we go back inside and wait for him there? You can start your homework and I'll give your mom a call." Zach breathed out and nodded. He grabbed her hand and followed her inside. She got him settled in her classroom and then smiled. "I'll be right back." She said and left.

And Zach was alone. He sniffed and rubbed at his eyes. Daddy was always late and mommy was always with the stupid baby and the stupid baby was always crying and Owen didn't wanna play with him anymore. Zach had no one. He pulled his backpack off and dropped it on the floor and sat down at the table. And he couldn't stop it. Tears spilled down his face and he ducked his head on his arms.

"Zach..."

Zach stopped at the voice. He lifted his head and wiped his sleeve over his eyes. He turned and blinked. And Owen was standing in the doorway, looking worried. Zach sniffed and wiped at his eyes again. Then he jumped up. He ran towards Owen and threw himself at the older kid. He wrapped his arms around Owen's waist and started crying again, harder this time. Owen bent forward and hugged Zach against him. "Hey, hey Zach." Owen whispered against him. "It's okay."

Zach hiccupped and rubbed his head against Owen. And he felt worse. He was crying all over Owen and that was bad. Because he wasn't sure if Owen was even his friend anymore.

"Zach..." Owen said his name softly again.

Zach pulled away and rubbed at his eyes again. "Sorry." The kid mumbled.

Owen smiled. "It's okay."

Zach sniffed again and looked at the ground. He closed his eyes tightly and tried hard not to cry again.

"Zach, are you okay?" Owen sat down on the floor in front of him. He dipped his head down, trying to get the kid to looka t him. "What's wrong?"

Zach shook his head.

"Zach, talk to me."

Zach took a breath and opened his eyes. He blinked as more tears collected in his eyes. "Daddy's always late and mommy only likes the baby and the baby's too little to play and he's still broken and you don't like me anymore and I gots no one."

Owen let out a sigh. He reached up and touched Zach's face. He gently brushed the tears away and smiled. "Your parents love you." He said softly. "Sometimes... they just... get busy. And babies are a lot of work. But they still love you, just as much as they always did."

Zach sniffed. "Really?" His bottom lip trembled a bit as he spoke.

Owen nodded.

"You sure?"

Owen nodded again and smiled.

"What bout you?"

Owen let his arm fall and sighed. He leaned back slightly and nodded. "Yeah, I like you."

Zach blinked and looked down at the floor. "So we're still friends?" He asked softly.

Owen nodded. "Yeah, we're still friends.

Zach looked back up at Owen. He slowly smiled and rubbed at his eyes. "Okay."

Owen laughed softly. "Feel better?"

Zach nodded. Then he turned and grabbed his backpack. He slipped it on and turned back to Owen. "Can you walk me home?"

Owen tilted his head. "You want me to walk you home?"

Zach nodded. "I know the way but I can't cross the street."

Owen nodded slowly. "Yeah, I guess so..."

"Daddy forgot and mommy has the baby." Zach said.

Owen stood up and nodded. "Okay."

Zach smiled and grabbed Owen's hand. Owen glanced down. "You have to hold my hand." Zach explained. "That's how it works when you cross the street."

Owen let out a laugh and squeezed Zach's hand. "I can do that."

Zach smiled again and tugged Owen towards the door. The teenager followed him out the door and out the front doors of the school. They hurried across the parking lot and turned down the street. Zach was taking big steps and pulling Owen as hard as he could.

After a few minutes, Owen let out a laugh. "What's the hurry?"

Zach looked back at him. "Don't want the teacher to see."

Owen glanced back at the school. "Your teacher?"

"You're not on the list."

Owen turned back and looked down at Zach. "List?"

Zach nodded. "You have to be on the list to pick me up."

Owen stopped and pulled Zach back a step. "What? Zach, we have to go back then!"

"No!" Zach whined loudly and pulled his hand away from Owen. He took a step back and crossed his arms. "I want you to walk me home now! I don't want to wait for daddy. He's always late! And I don't want mommy to come because then I'll have to sit next to the crying baby!"

Owen bit his lip and looked back at the school. "But Zach..."

Zach turned and took off down the street, running as fast as he could.

Owen spun around and his mouth dropped open. "Zach!" He called out. "Stop it!" He said as he ran after him. Owen caught up quickly and grabbed Zack from behind. "Okay, okay!" Owen snapped, holding onto the flailing kid. "I'll walk you home."

Zach stopped as Owen set him down. He turned slightly and looked back at Owen. "You promise?"

Owen nodded quickly.

Zach spun around to him and pointed a finger at him. "You can't break your promises anymore!"

Owen held up his hands. "I promise... I won't... break my promises..." He laughed.

"Okay." Zach held out his hand. Owen took it and they started walking down the sidewalk again. "Do you have a phone number?" Zach asked.

"Uh..." Owen tilted his head. "I don't know."

Zach breathed out loudly. "Well daddy said if you did, he would call your parents and ask them if you could come over to my house and play with my legos."

Owen looked away. "I... I can't... remember my parents." He said softly.

"You can't?" Zach said loudly and shook his head. "Did you forget them, too?"

Owen looked back at Zach and frowned at him. "Too?"

Zach tilted his head and blinked at him. "You're brother."

Owen's mouth opened slowly. "My brother..." He repeated.

Zach nodded. "His name is Peter."

Owen lifted his gaze and looked ahead. He let out a sigh.

"I won't forget for you." Zach said. "I promise."

Owen looked back down at him and smiled. "Thanks." He said softly.

Zach smiled at him. And then his smile fell and he let out a loud sigh. "I don't know what to do."

"About what?" Owen asked.

"You don't have a phone so daddy can't call your parents."

"What?"

"Daddy said you can come over and play if he can call you."

"Oh... right..." Owen smiled. "Your dad said I could come over?"

Zach nodded. "So I have to show you where I live before you disappear so you can come over and play."

"Yeah." Owen breathed out.

"Do you like legos?"

Owen smiled and nodded. "I like legos."

"Good." Zach said with a nod. Then he looked back up at Owen. "Daddy said you broke your promise because you mighta been sick or grounded."

Owen shook his head. "No, I'm not sick or grounded."

Zach frowned. "So you just broke it then?" He mumbled.

"I'm sorry Zach." Owen said with a sigh. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I don't know..." He shook his head. "What's happening... I don't know... how to explain..."

"You can try." Zach said bluntly. "I'm pretty smart. Mommy and Daddy explain stuff to me all the time."

Owen smiled and nodded. "Okay. I'll try. I remember being at the hospital with you, but I don't remember anything before that... and then... I tried to follow you... but suddenly I was in the park with you... and then you left... and I was alone..."

Zach squeezed his hand.

Owen smiled again and continued. "And then I was at your school and you were mad and I didn't know what happened... I feel... alone and... lost... when I'm not with you." He said softly.

Zach was silent for a moment. And then he nodded his head. "I'll tell mommy and daddy you have Dory Disease and you have to stay."

Owen looked down at him. "With you?"

Zach nodded. "With me."

Owen breathed out and his smile widened. "So... who's your favorite Spiderman villain?"

Zach's eyes lit up. "I like Doctor Octo! Because he's got all those umm... arm things!"

Owen laughed and they continued down the street, talking about Spiderman and how he was so much better than Batman. Batman was silly. He didn't have any superpowers. And then suddenly Zach stopped. His mouth dropped open and his eyes widened. Owen frowned and looked around.

They were standing in front of a small house. There was a cop car in the driveway. And a very panicked woman holding a baby on the porch, talking to an officer.

"Shit..." Owen breathed out. "That's your house?"

Zach nodded. "You said a bad word."

 **-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-**

 **Author's Notes:** The same thing almost sorta happened to me. XD When I was like... 8 or 9, I was walking home from school. The school's like 3 blocks away. But I walked to and from by myself. So did a lot of kids. And I always walked the same way. But one day, I walked a different way with a couple friends. And it took longer. Like waaaaay longer. Or it must have been waaaay longer. Because when I got home, a cop car had pulled in like at the same time and I mom was outside crying and then started screaming at me. XD She'd thought I'd been kidnapped. She said she drove to pick me up and I wasn't there. Which she'd never done before because of baby brothers. 8D


	4. Just a Phase

Woohoo! 8D Took 6 months to update, didn't it? YAY! 8D

 **Never Go Home Again  
** **Chapter 4: Just a Phase**

Mommy was crying. She shook her head at the cop and turned slightly. Her eyes widened when she saw Zach. "Zach!" She called loudly. She shifted Gray against her chest and ran down the steps towards him.

Owen stepped away from Zach, getting out of her way.

She bent down and grabbed Zach. She hugged him against her and Gray, tears down her face. "Where were you? Where'd go?"

"Daddy forgot me..." Zach said.

She pulled back and nodded. "Your teacher called. I was going to come get you. And then she called back and said you were gone!"

Zach didn't understand why she was so upset. "Owen walked me home." He said.

She blinked and shook her head. "Who?"

"My friend Owen." Zach answered. "Daddy said he can come over and play."

She opened her mouth. Then shook her head and pointed towards the house. "Just get inside."

"Owen too?" Zach asked hopefully.

"Just get inside!" She repeated, a little louder. "Upstairs to your room, now!" She stood up and shifted the baby again. "I need to talk to the police officer." She turned.

Zach looked back at Owen and waved at him.

Owen stepped closer to him and shook his head. "I think I should go..." The teenager started to say.

"No!" Zach said quickly.

"Zach, get inside!" His mom snapped. "Now!"

Zach reached out and grabbed Owen's hand. "You'll get lost again." He whispered and then preceded to tug Owen towards the house. Owen glanced back but followed along after Zach. The kid's mom wasn't stopping him. And Zach's dad said he could. Zach pulled him through the door and stopped just in the entrance way. Zach quickly sat down and started untying his shoes. "Shoes go here." Zach said pointing at the mat near the door. Then he stood back up.

Owen glanced down at his feet. "Not wearing shoes."

"Oh." Zach glanced down as well. Then looked back up at Owen and smiled. Then grabbed his hand again. "Okay. Come on." Zach tugged him through the house. Though the living room and up the stairs. He didn't let go of Owen's hand until they were in the kid's bedroom. Zach pulled off his backpack and threw it on his bed. "We can play now."

Owen glanced around the room. The walls were painted light blue. There were Spiderman curtains hanging on the window and the bed was covered with Spiderman, too. Legos and toys littered the floor. Owen smiled as he looked around.

"This is my bed." Zach said, pointing at it. "And this is my dresser and I got a lamp. And my books are over here. I can't read very well. But here!" He pulled a book out and showed it to Owen. "This is Nemo." He pointed at the orange fish on the cover. Then flipped it open and pointed at a blue fish. "This is you, Dory."

Owen smiled at that. And then Zach sped around the whole room, showing Owen his favorite toys and his favorite shirt and the stuffed animal his grandma bought him last Christmas and his remote control car. The kid suddenly had more energy than the energizer bunny. And it was cute.

"Zach!"

Zach was half laying in his toybox, rooting around for his Doc Ock action figure. He stopped when he heard his mother's voice. He rolled out and quickly starting throwing toys back in. "We're in my room."

Owen immediately dropped to the floor and helped the kid.

"We?"

Zach popped out into the hall and nodded his head, smiling wide. "Me and Owen."

Mommy frowned and opened her mouth slowly. "Who... is Owen?"

"My friend." Zach said with a smile. "Daddy said he could come over. Daddy was gonna call his parents but Owen doesn't remember his parents. He's got Dory Disease."

She blinked at him. "Zach..." She sighed and shook her head. Then she followed him in.

"This is my friend Owen." Zach turned to smile at Owen. "Owen, this is my mommy and my brother Gray."

Owen smiled and stood up quickly. "Hi." He said, trying to not sound so awkward.

She sighed again. "Zach, I don't have time for your games. I need to talk to you about what you did. It was very serious. You can't do it again."

Zach frowned and shook his head. "But daddy knows Owen. He said..."

She held up her hand. "Zach, stop it."

"Karen!"

She turned and glanced at the door. Then back at Zach. She lifted her hand to point at him. "You stay right here and don't move!" She said. "I'm going to talk to your father." She turned and walked out of the room.

Zach frowned and looked at the floor. He didn't understand why mommy was so mad. Why did she yell at him? He hadn't done anything wrong. Daddy said Owen could play!

"Hey." Owen said softly. He moved closer and sat down beside Zach on the floor. "It's okay."

Zach sniffed and rubbed at his eyes. They sat in silence for a few minutes. Then there were footsteps in the hall. Owen stood up immediately and stepped to the side of the room. He didn't want to get in the way.

Scott walked into the room, stepping past the teenager. He crossed his arms as he stood over Zach. The kid looked so miserable. Scott let out a sigh and dropped his arms. "Zach." He said softly. He sat down on the floor across from Zach and sighed. "Zach." He repeated. "Look at me, son."

Zach looked up slowly, still looking miserable and confused.

"Do you know why you're in trouble?" Scott asked softly.

Zach nodded his head. "I left school."

"Yes." Scott said, nodding his head. "Why was that wrong?"

Zach shrugged and looked at the floor.

"Zach."

Zach let out a loud sigh. "You were late and mommy has the dumb baby and he just cries and I don't like sitting next to him in the car!" He said loudly, all in one breath.

Scott frowned and shook his head. "Zach, don't call your brother dumb..."

"Well he is!" Zach snapped. "All he does is cry! And you said Owen could come over and Owen was at the school and I asked him to walk me home and he did and you said it was okay!"

Scott frowned again and tilted his head for a moment. He opened his mouth slowly. "Zach... I thought Owen was a friend from school."

Zach shook his head quickly. "No. Owen's too big for my school."

Scott paused again. "How old is Owen?"

"15."

Scott shook his head. "You can't be friends with someone that old."

Zach's mouth fell open. "You said I could! You said he could come over."

Owen shrank back as they talked. He glanced at the door and then back at Zach. When the kid wasn't looking at him, he slowly stepped towards the door. He didn't want to get Zach in trouble.

"No!" Zach said loudly, jumping up. "No, Owen, you can't go!"

Scott frowned. He looked behind him, where Zach was looking. Then he turned back around slowly. "Zach..."

"Dad! Please!" Zach begged. "He has Dory disease!"

Scott looked even more confused. He held up his hands and shook his head. "Zach, sit back down."

"Please, dad!" Zach repeated again. "He'll forget again and get lost again."

"Zach!" Scott said his name loudly. "Calm down..."

"Dad! Tell Owen he can stay!" Zach sounded desperate.

"Fine!" Scott said loudly. "Just sit back down and Owen can stay."

Zach smiled and looked at Owen. He waved his arms. "Come back in!"

Owen hesitated, hovering in the door. "I should go..."

"No!" Zach whined. "You have to stay!"

Owen bit his lip and glanced at Scott. But the man had said he could. He stepped back into the room and sat down in the corner. He didn't want to be in the way.

Scott watched his some for a few moments. The kid was happily staring off at nothing. "Zach..." He started slowly. "Owen is... here now?"

Zach smiled and nodded.

Scott nodded and was quiet for a moment. Then he leaned forward slightly. "Zach, tell me more about Owen."

"He likes blue and Spiderman." Zach was still smiling as he talked. "And he has a brother named Peter but he forgets."

Owen frowned slightly and looked at the floor.

"But it's okay." Zach said, smiling at Owen. "I hafta remember his brother for him. Cuz he's gots Dory disease."

"Dory..." Scott repeated the name.

Zach nodded again. "From the fish movie."

Scott nodded slowly. "Where did you meet him?"

"At the hospital." Zach answered. "When you and mommy were getting Gray."

Scott frowned slightly and tilted his head. "The night your brother was born?"

Zach nodded again and looked at the floor. "I was gonna run away."

Scott's eyes widened. "Zach!"

"I didn't want a dumb brother." Zach mumbled. "And was gonna run away. And Owen said not to, because brothers can be good."

Scott smiled tightly and nodded. "Yes, they can be." He reached out and ruffled Zach's hair and the kid smiled up at him. "Okay, Zach. I'm going to go check on your mom and brother. You... and Owen... stay in here and... do your homework, alright?"

Zach smiled and nodded his head. "Okay! Thanks dad!" He hopped up and turned towards his bed. He reached for his backpack and pulled it towards him. "Owen, can you help me?"

Scott watched his son for a moment longer. Then he stood up and walked out into the hall. "Karen?" He called out his wife's name.

"Kitchen."

Scott followed her voice and stepped into the kitchen. Gray was asleep in his swing, rocking gently. Karen was leaning over the sink, scrubbing a pan with more effort than needed. Scott sighed as he walked up behind her. He grabbed her arm, trying to still her movements.

Karen stopped. She dropped the scrub brush in the sink and turned around. She let out a sigh and leaned back against the counter. "Is he okay?" She asked softly.

Scott smiled and nodded. He briefly told her about the few times he'd talked with Zach about Owen before and about what he'd just learned. "Karen, it's a phase." He said softly. "He'll grow out of it."

Karen glanced away, looking over at Gray. "Are you sure?"

"He has an imaginary friend." Scott said with a shrug. "That he met the day Gray was born. It's his subconscious trying to deal with the situation of being replaced."

Karen let out a sigh and shook her head. "But Zach said he was 15. Where would he get that from? Why would he make up an imaginary friend three times his age?"

Scott shrugged again and tilted his head. "It's normal. There's nothing wrong with him. "

Karen shook her head. "I don't know... it just... seems wrong."

Scott stepped closer to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. "Once he starts making friends in school, he'll forget all about this Owen thing. You'll see. He'll be fine."


End file.
